We are pleased to bring you the first PWCI Newsletter of 2009. As the PWCI Network continues to expand with new members, we feel it's important to keep you informed about industry news, upcoming events and member announcements.

So you may have wondered... How did the Professional Women in Collections Network get started?

I remember talking with some of my peers in the industry before a conference in 2006. We were all very busy setting up meetings with prospects and clients. We were coordinating lunches, dinners, private meetings, etc. There was some "down" time in between meetings. Some of our peers in the industry spend their "down" time golfing and others go to the spa. While I always enjoy the spa, I thought we were missing an excellent opportunity for the Professional Women in our industry to spend time networking and learning from each other. I have always found my peers and friends to be very insightful and helpful - even though we were competitors. So, we started our first meeting with a group of 8 women. We talked about what we wanted to accomplish, who should be a member and how we would communicate to the network. There were some fundamentals of our organization that hold true today - the PWCI is a "safe" environment. This means that we are truly together to network and learn from each other - not to sell or be sold. Another fundamental is that this is a networking opportunity so we want to hold social as well as informational events to truly learn from each other. From these basic points, we have grown and evolved.

It has been three years since our first meeting. We have had tremendous support from our industry. We are so fortunate to have had many companies sponsor our conference events, as well as provide pins and pens and t-shirts. We have individuals supporting our website and newsletters. We have so many focused volunteers who have coordinated events to give back to the communities that we do business (blood drive in San Diego, Hurricane Katrina clean up in New Orleans, Breast Cancer silent auction coming up).

I am so proud to be part of such an organization. I have learned so much as we have watched our vision grow and evolve. It is addicting to be a part of such enthusiasm.

Sincerely,
Victoria M. Edwards

About PWCI Network....

Our network was established in 2006 by a small group of enthusiastic, dedicated and intelligent industry professionals.

Our Vision
Provide a catalyst for the professional women leaders in the collection industry to support professional & personal growth, enabling our success, make a positive difference for our families, companies and communities.

Our Charter
Establish a network which will drive the collections industry to embrace initiatives that support the effort to recruit, retain, develop and nurture women of all levels, in particular senior leadership, establish role models, sponsors and mentors - male and female.

Our Organization
The Network of Professional Women in the Collections Industry is overseen by a volunteer Steering Committee. Its main functions are managed by sub-committees, which are run by member volunteers.

Wisdom from mentors I won't forget.
by Marti Lythgoe

Filed On My "Hard Drive"-wisdom from mentors I won't forget
by Marti Lythgoe, Marketing Manager, IAT

Search. They're in there-those little bits of advice you've received over the years that affect how you do things daily. A recent mental review of maxims I follow and frequently pass on to others brought up theseresulted in the following and more:!

"If I don't stop, I'll never get ahead."
A very accomplished friend of mine always keeps this little reminder where she can see it. To her it means that if she waits until all the routine tasks of the day are done before she starts on an important project, it will never happen. She knows she has to let some things go, at least for a while, in order to accomplish something that really makes a difference.

"Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History"
Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Laurel Ulrich, inadvertently created this now-famous slogan (also a book with the same name) while writing about the women of colonial New England. (See her book with the same name.*) I've had the good fortune to know her since she was a young mother getting up at 4:00 a.m. to write about and study in the almost-unheard-of (then) field of Women's History. She taught me that I could "have it all" if I was willing to work hard and not worry too much about what people think.

'Write it down and check it off!"
Lists are part of the magic of goal setting-write it down and it will happen. But there's a feel-good aspect to list making that you might not be taking advantage of. I read somewhere that when you make a To-Do List, always include one thing you've already done and check it off. You'll start each day with a positive feeling of accomplishment. When I do something that's not on the list, I add it and check it off, too. At the end of the day, I never have to ask myself, "What did I do today?"

"Why wear that when you have other clothes that are nicer?"
I'm lucky to have a friend who acts as my "fashion consultant." She has a great sense of style and color and of which clothes bring out the best in me. I love to shop with her because she gently steers me away from clothes that aren't a good fit for me or for where I plan to wear them. She taught me to write down in advance what I'll wear to work every day for the week and to ask myself as I do it, "Why wear that?"

"It was hard, but I did it!"
When she was complimented on making an amazing buffet appear in minutes, a very busy woman said, "Oh, it wasn't hard." I and my friends attending the event decided that what she should have said was "It was hard, but I did it!" I made it my motto, and I repeat it whenever I notice a woman not taking credit for something that obviously took time and skill-an all-too-common occurrence. I also share it on my license plate frame.

Do you have a motto or a maxim that you follow or share on a regular basis? Then you, too, are a mentor someone is remembering.

Marti Lythgoe has worked in the Collections Industry for almost 20 years. She's retiring in a few months and would love to keep in touch through freelance writing and editing projects. She can be reached at martidennis@lythgoes.net

*Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History (New York: Alfred A Knopf, 2007)

July's Member Spotlight

Name: Marti S. Lythgoe
Company: IAT (Information Access Technology)
Title: Marketing Manager

Career Overview

Describe your responsibilities and role within your profession?
Because IAT only has a 2-person Marketing Department, I and my assistant do everything we can think of to bring in qualified leads for the Sales Department: PR, trade shows, ads, direct mail, email blasts, monthly e-newsletter, website, annual user conference, customer profiles, webinars, surveys, partner program, administrative duties like creating a budget and a marketing plan for the year, ETC. The only thing we outsource is some design work.
Outline your past career steps?
College graduate in Education. Mother of 5. Teacher. Writing sections of grammar school text books and workbooks on contract for D.C. Heath and Houghton Mifflin in Boston. Technical writer, IAT. Technical writing and marketing, IAT. Marketing manager, IAT.
What are your future career goals?
To retire from full-time work at the end of this year and do freelance writing and editing: articles, press releases, columns, personal essays, books. I'd also like to spend more time with my grandchildren and de-junk my house.
What do you love most about your job?
I like the writing and editing parts most of all. I like to turn "techno-speak" into plain English and make it sound interesting and even compelling to the average reader. I like to see a finished project appear in print. I like the people I work with at IAT and in the Collection Industry. I've found people in the Collection Industry to be very genuine, down-to-earth and hard-working. When I retire, I will especially miss going to trade shows and talking to customers.

How did you choose this profession? Career direction?
It chose me. One thing led to another. My education and experience as a teacher led to my opportunity to do textbook writing projects. Writing textbooks led to the technical writing opportunity when we moved from Boston to Salt Lake City. As IAT grew, I did more and more of the marketing until I was doing that full-time. I learned most of my marketing skills on-the-job.

Personal Overview

Where is your hometown? Where have you lived and where are you now?
I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. When my husband finished his PhD., we moved to the Boston area where he was offered a job as a history professor. We lived there for 20 years. Then a career change for him brought us back to Salt Lake City. Now we've been living and working here for twenty years.
Educational background.
BS degree in Education from Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. Since then, various courses and seminars related to teaching, marketing and writing. Reading books and articles on marketing, technology and the Collection Industry.
What are your personal interests (sports, hobbies, etc.)?
I love to read and eat at the same time. I love to take good writing and make it better. I love to just sit and watch the waves at the beach, whenever I can get to the ocean. I love to teach (marketing is teaching of a sort). I love playing the piano and leading/teaching choral music. I love growing vegetables, gardening and working in the dirt. I love spending time with my grandchildren, especially as they get older.
How do you spend "YOU" time or manage your work/life balance?
I make lists that include the things I want to do as well as the things I need to do. I belong to a book group that meets once a week. I try to ride my exercise bike and read at the same time about 5 days a week. I vacation by the ocean at least once a year. I plant a garden and then I have to fit in taking care of it! I have a Friday night date with my husband. I spend as much time as I can with my family.
Do you have any family or special pets that you would like to mention?
I've been happily married to the same man for 43 years. We have 5 grown and married children and ten very smart and beautiful grandchildren. I have a best girlfriend who helps to keep me sane and is lots of fun to be with.

Advice to Other Members

What advice would you give professional women entering our industry?
Talk to other professionals in the industry to find out why they are so passionate about helping people pay their debts, and why they feel they perform such an important service to individuals and the economy. Catch their enthusiasm!
What do you attribute some of your success to?
I'm the oldest of 9 children. I had my first job at 14. I'm a hard-worker and a perfectionist. I pay attention to details. I was blessed with a good mind and the ability and the desire to learn new things. I'm a feminist who has studied Women's History, and I believed, earlier than most women my age, that I could be a good wife and mother and accomplish other great things at the same time.

Ten Steps to keeping your job.

Be the Go-to, Indispensible Person Who Has Needed Organization Knowledge
Make Your Contributions Measurable and Visible to the Right People
Make Money for the Company: Contribute to Revenue Generation, Sales, Profit
Ask for More Work and More Challenging Assignments
Make Sure Your Manager Likes You; Invest Genuine Time, Compliments, Attention
Be a Low Maintenance Employee: No Complaining, Whining or Monopolizing
Work Long Hours and Make Sure the Right People Notice
Keep Your Personal and Professional Skills Growing and Developing
Team Build With Coworkers: Cooperate to Achieve Goals and Success for All
Take Your Talents and Skills to a More Recession-proof Company or Job
Link to Article: by Susan Heathfield, About.com

Thank you PWCI Sponsors......

Jennifer Heinz of
Miller & Steeno and Xenia Murphy of Encore Capital Group for the mints that helped promote PWCI at the Spring 2009 NARCA conference.

Dawn Marshall of Gordon & Weinberg and Fred Blitt of Blitt & Gaines for sponsoring our speaker Lois Barth at the Spring 2009 NARCA conference.

Cindy White of NARCA for her support and the room she provided PWCI at the Spring 2009 NARCA conference.

Judy Hammond of Resource Managent Services for sponsoring a luncheon for PWCI members at the 2009 CRS conference.

Kristin Dougherty of Collect America for speaking at the 2009 CRS conference.

July's Newsletter Sponsor:

Kathy Aman

Ms. Aman has eight years of strategic sales experience at I.C. System. Her responsibilities include strategic business development of servicing solutions designed to improve bottom-line partner results. She has won numerous sales and quality awards during her tenure and currently serves multiple industry networking groups (including Professional Women in the Collection's Industry).

*Sponsorship Opportunities Available for the quarterly newsletter and upcoming events.*

Yes, I would like to be a sponsor.